Rigid, hinged-lid cigarette packets are currently the most widely marketed, by being easy to make, easy and practical to use, and providing good mechanical protection of the cigarettes inside.
A rigid, hinged-lid cigarette packet comprises a cup-shaped container having an open top end; and a cup-shaped lid hinged to the container along a hinge to rotate, with respect to the container, between an open position and a closed position respectively opening and closing the open end. A rigid, hinged-lid cigarette packet of the type described above is normally produced by folding a single, flat, substantially elongated rectangular blank about a respective group of cigarettes wrapped in a sheet of foil; in which case, the lid and container both form part of the same blank. A collar, separate from the flat blank, is normally fitted, folded into a U, inside the container, and projects partly outwards of the open end to engage a corresponding inner surface of the lid when the lid is in the closed position.
Rigid, hinged-lid cigarette packets of the type described above have various drawbacks, in that they tend to lose shape and fail to provide for adequate mechanical protection of the cigarettes inside when subjected to relatively severe mechanical stress (as, for example, when carried in the user's trouser pocket). Moreover, accidental opening of the lid is fairly common, thus resulting in fallout of the cigarettes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,599A1 discloses a cigarette package comprising an outer shell, in which an inner shell is mounted to swing relative to the outer shell; the inner shell houses cigarettes and is movable from a position completely enclosed within the outer shell, to an angular position, relative to the outer shell, wherein a portion of the top of the inner shell is exposed laterally of the outer shell to permit extraction of the cigarettes from the inner shell.